Summary: American adults tend to have more friends than recent surveys suggest, with fewer reporting no friends. The survey found that the average American adult has four to five friends, and only 2% said they were friendless.
Despite general satisfaction, many adults wish for closer friendships and more time with friends. These findings challenge recent concerns about increasing loneliness and declining friendships.
Key facts:
- American adults have an average of four to five friends, with only 2% reporting no friends.
- Many adults long for closer friendships and more time to spend with friends.
- The findings challenge fears of increasing loneliness and declining friendships.
Source: PLOS
American adults may typically have more friends than other recent surveys suggest, with fewer Americans having no friends at all — even though many would like closer friendships.
Natalie Pennington of Colorado State University, USA, and colleagues present these preliminary findings from the ongoing “American Friendship Project” in a study published on July 30, 2024 in the open access journal. PLOS ONE.
Having more and better friendships is associated with greater happiness and life satisfaction. But research suggests that more and more American adults are facing loneliness and spending less time in social activities. However, the evidence is mixed on whether the number and quality of friendships among Americans is actually declining.
To get a clearer picture of American friendship, Pennington and colleagues launched the American Friendship Project, an ongoing multi-year survey study. In 2022 and 2023, they gathered baseline data by surveying nearly 6,000 American adults about their friendships and well-being.
This initial data suggests that the average American adult has four or five friends, similar to numbers reported in previous research from 1970 to 2015. About 2 percent of participants reported being friendless, which is also consistent with data from previous decades .
These findings suggest that recent fears of growing animosity may be inaccurate. However, while participants generally reported satisfaction with their friendships, many reported a desire to spend more time with their friends or to have better quality friendships.
The analysis also suggests that participants often talk to friends in person, although phone calls and texts are also common. The subgroup of participants who were college students were more likely to report meeting new friends at school and tended to maintain friendships for a shorter period of time than the general subgroup of adult participants.
In analyzing the baseline data, the researchers also assessed the methodology and limitations of the American Friendship Project, considering such issues as different definitions of “friend” between people and whether or not friendships reported in surveys can be reciprocated by other parties.
Overall, the researchers say the project holds promise for shedding new light on friendships and well-being over time, which could inform efforts to increase and improve such relationships.
The authors add: “Americans desire greater closeness with friends; although more than 75% were satisfied with the number of friends they had, 42% felt they were not as close to their friends as they would like.’
Funding: This paper was supported by University of Kansas GRF #2177080 (2022); the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Faculty Opportunity Award (2022-2023) to Natalie Pennington; and Michigan State University’s ComArtSci Research and Creative Incubator and Accelerator (CRCIA) Award (2022-2025) to Amanda J. Holmstrom. No sponsors or funders had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Author: Hanna Abdallah
Source: PLOS
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will be presented in PLOS ONE